On Thursday presidential candidate Stefan Beck ripped off about 200 push-ups — some one-handed, some on his knuckles, all for votes. Today he plans to stroll down Sheridan Road wearing only boxers and a sandwich board.

The way Beck sees it, it’s his duty.

“Somebody had to be in there to make it at least mildly interesting,” said Beck, a Speech junior. Indeed, 92 percent of students said in an unofficial Daily poll that they did not know the date of the April 11 Associated Student Government elections.

Beck is running a drastically different campaign from Adam Humann, the other presidential candidate.

While Humann can’t cram his campaign staff into one room, Beck jokes about platform issues with 13 friends/campaign workers watching “Dawson’s Creek.”

In addition, Humann plans to meet 1,000 students walking door-to-door in dorms; Beck plans to go to North and South Mid-Quads munchies.

Humann discussed his platform issues in depth with administrators and, at Thursday’s presidential debate, the current student services vice president questioned Beck on his relationship with the administration.

Beck responded that he has little rapport with administrators, but that it shouldn’t be a problem.

“I know I have the ability to win them over with my devilish good looks and charm,” Beck said.

For students, Beck also has an unorthodox take on campaigning.

His campaign manager and roommate, Speech sophomore Dave Weintraub, called Beck’s strategy a “shotgun approach” to grabbing students’ attention so they will remember his name on Election Day.

“I know I voted for Evil Dave because he beat the hell out of someone at munchies,” said Weintraub of last year’s president, Dave Sheldon, and his unusual tactics.

As with Sheldon, Beck said he needs to mobilize the students who normally couldn’t care less.

“I’m trying to motivate people who are kind of uninterested and apathetic to get out there and vote,” Beck said.

He said he would appeal to these students as someone other than the typical ASG member.

“I’m just more fun than the other people who are running,” Beck said. “If I have to light myself on fire at Senate meetings to get people interested, I’ll do that.”

Beck’s platform reads like an average student’s rant. Perhaps his best-known idea is his anti-crow stance, which includes paying students $5 for each “damnable” bird they shoot down.

He has more ideas than that, however. They include plans for a personal finance course, better lighting and parking, longer Lakefill hours, wider sidewalks or bicycle paths on Sheridan Road, more benches and paying music students to perform as street performers.

In addition, Beck would push for cheaper venues for student productions. ASG’s funding pool is often sapped by rental costs, he said, and many venues go unused.

Beck’s interest in student productions is understandable — he came to Northwestern for the theater. As a freshman, Beck acted in two plays, and he is working on a R/TV/F film this quarter.

While Beck is taking four classes, it’s not all work for him. He’s got Friday off.

“That gives you the extra night of debauchery on the weekend,” Beck said.

As what one of his advisers calls the “anti-establishment” candidate, Beck has targeted strained ASG-student group relations — as well as funding restrictions and student group derecognition — as a major problem area.

Beck places some of the blame on the Executive Committee and its inflexibility with student groups.

“(Groups) need to get the opportunity to prove themselves before we can say, ‘Oh, they didn’t do anything,'” Beck said.

He said the committee should serve as more of a facilitator than a regulator, ensuring that events reach the stage rather than clucking at groups for their errors.

While Beck doesn’t have any concrete plans about changing the system, he said he would work with the next executive vice president, which oversees student groups.

“There has to be a better way,” he said.

Said Cliff Berlow, Beck’s policy advisor: “ASG needs some serious image maintenance work.”

Beck served as North Mid-Quads senator and on the Executive Committee last year. He said he considers it an accomplishment that the committee did not derecognize any groups during his stint.

But after spring funding ended, Beck decided he would rather spend his Wednesday nights on a couch watching “Dawson’s Creek” than in Norris Room 2E/F.

If elected, Beck has a solution — his friends will tape the show.

“(ASG) doesn’t have to be bunch of pompous people,” Beck said. “(Winning the election) wouldn’t affect my ego one way or the other.”

His platform echoed that sentiment: “While I have ASG experience and understand the inner workings of the organization,” he wrote, “I am not an ASG lackey who has an inflated view of the organization’s importance and prestige. I decided to run last Thursday evening at dinner.”

Beck’s relaxed attitude runs throughout his campaign. At a lunch of popcorn chicken and curly fries earlier in the week, student issues crept in and out of conversation among his friends and campaign workers.

After some lighthearted discussion, Beck dished out a gentle insult to a friend.

“You just lost my vote,” the friend retorted.Beck’s reply: “I didn’t want it anyway.”